This bowl of noodles is what you want to eat when you’re looking for a fast and cozy dinner. Creamy, spicy, full of vegetables, chicken, and noodles: perfect for warming up and relaxing after a long day in the cold.
Do you ever get home from work (or school, or wherever) and are just exhausted? The thought of cooking is absolutely draining and all you want to do is order in? I have to admit, if I were single (thank goodness I’m not), my most used app would probably be grubhub or uber eats (or postmates or doordash). I’m not embarrassed – okay, I’m a little embarrassed – to say that I actually have horrible eating habits. I let myself get incredibly hangry, so much so that I can’t even contemplate cooking. Sometimes, when I’m alone and even waiting for delivery is too much, I’ll eat a family size bag of chips and call it a night.
Thankfully we usually have a lot of leftovers in the fridge and that helps, but when there’s nothing in the fridge and I want to make something practically instant, I always think of noodles in soup. I know what you’re thinking? Soup?! That takes forever. I think my noodles in soup habit comes from eating lots and lots of packs of instant noodles in high school. Instant noodles are fast – heck, they’re even called instant! I’ll admit that I still indulge in instant noodles sometimes, but if I’m looking for quick homemade alternative, this is it.
Seriously, you just throw everything into your instant pot, wait for it to come to pressure, let it do it’s thing for 5 minutes while you boil and drain some noodles, and you’ve got dinner. This recipe is for two and because there isn’t that much liquid that goes into the pot, it doesn’t even take that long to come to pressure.
When the cooking time is done, quick release, take out your chicken and shred it and you’re good to go. Speaking of chicken, I think it’s crazy how all the online Instant Pot chicken breast recipes say that they need to go in at high pressure for 10 minutes. I’ve been cooking chicken breasts at high pressure for 5 minutes and they’ve been coming out great – 10 minutes would definitely be on the dry and stringy side. I think I might even go for 3 or 4 minutes next time. I’ll do it in the spirit of science report back to you if it works.
Anyway, I hope you get a chance to try this recipe. It’s a spicy, creamy, nutty, noodle-y bowl of comfort. There’s a little bit of spice from the red curry paste, richness from the coconut milk, and a satisfying depth from the sesame. So, so good.
15 Minute Thai Red Curry Ramen Recipe
serves 2
- 2.5 cups no sodium chicken broth
- 14 ounce can coconut milk
- 2 tablespoons sesame paste, tahini, or nut butter of choice
- 1-2 tablespoons red curry paste, depending on spice preference
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
- 1 inch piece of ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
- 1 large chicken breast
- 1 cup cremini mushrooms, sliced
- 2 portions ramen noodles
- 1 red pepper, sliced
- 2 large handfuls spinach
- fish sauce or salt, to taste
- lime and cilantro, to finish
In the Instant Pot insert, add the chicken stock, coconut milk, sesame paste, red curry paste, garlic, ginger, chicken breast, and mushrooms. Cook on high pressure for 5 minutes.
While the Instant Pot is doing it’s thing, slice up your peppers and cook and drain your noodles and divide them between two deep bowls.
When the Instant Pot is done, quick release the pressure. Carefully remove the chicken and shred.Add the chicken to the bowls with the noodles.
Stir the peppers and spinach into the soup. Taste the soup and adjust the seasoning with fish sauce, salt, or even more curry paste if needed, then divide evenly between the two bowls.
Finish with lime and cilantro and enjoy!
Note: If you don’t have an Instant Pot, you can make it in a regular pot on the stove. Add the chicken stock, coconut milk, sesame paste, red curry paste, garlic, ginger, chicken breast, and mushrooms to a pot and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Continue to simmer until the chicken is cooked through, about 10-15 minutes, depending on the size of the chicken breast. Continue with the remaining steps.
42 Comments
denise says:
January 25, 2019 at 8:01 am
sounds so yummy but having an instant pot is really rare in Asia so i wish you’d go back to more regular recipes ):
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Amarg says:
January 25, 2019 at 11:37 am
You don’t need an instant pot to make this. Just use a regular pot for the part that says to use the instant pot and just simmer the ingredients for longer, probably about 10-20 minutes, however long you would normally simmer a soup with chicken.
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Stephanie says:
January 25, 2019 at 11:44 am
thank you! this is exactly what i would do :)
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Stephanie says:
January 25, 2019 at 11:44 am
eeep!!! i adjusted the recipe so you can make it on the stove :)
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Aisha says:
January 25, 2019 at 11:53 am
Amazing
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Geoff says:
January 27, 2019 at 6:46 pm
I’m always on a mission to find better ramen noodles. What type do you use? I’ve been able to get a couple of Sun Noodles types, but am not totally convinced that they are the best. I have tried a ton of ones off of some deep dive Amazon shopping, but find those efforts hit or miss.
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Stephanie says:
January 28, 2019 at 9:58 am
hi geoff,
tbh, we’re not huge sun noodle fans ourselves. we usually make our own (recipe here) or we buy locally made from the asian grocery store.Reply
Julie says:
June 23, 2019 at 2:39 pm
Hey Geoff- Lotus Food Rice Ramen noodles are great.
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Nikki says:
February 1, 2020 at 4:47 pm
Agree! Lotus noodles are my favorite. Best price on thrive.com
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Lena says:
January 28, 2019 at 9:35 am
I really appreciate your Instant Pot recipes! It’s hard to find recipies for the IP for the type of food I enjoy. You are nailing it!
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Allison says:
February 3, 2019 at 9:23 am
Yum!! What red curry paste do you use?
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Stephanie says:
February 3, 2019 at 10:38 am
hi allison,
i used aroy-d red curry paste! i heard that people like maesri too but i haven’t tried it :)Reply
Chiffonade says:
July 7, 2019 at 10:39 am
I’ve made things in the IP with coconut milk and have it appear “broken” after cooking. I’ve begun cooking all the other ingredients first and stirring in the coconut milk afterward. I’m definitely going to try this because Thai Red Curry is my FAVORITE!
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Stephanie says:
July 8, 2019 at 9:35 am
hi chffonade,
you can absolutely do that :)Reply
B says:
October 10, 2019 at 6:32 pm
I agree that coconut milk curdled because of the high heat when added in while the instant pot was cooking. To avoid that- adding the coconut milk afterwards was the way to go for me. Fun recipe.
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Ruby says:
January 19, 2020 at 9:51 pm
i’m in college and learning how to cook chicken for the first time. when simmering all the ingredients together on the stovetop, is its safe/recommended to insert the raw, pink chicken breast cubed?
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Stephanie says:
January 20, 2020 at 6:02 pm
yes, as long as everything comes to a boil!
Ruby says:
January 23, 2020 at 12:13 am
Thanks!!!
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Ty says:
February 16, 2020 at 7:06 pm
This was everything I hoped for and more! I think I have a new favorite food :) Thank you for sharing this recipe!
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Lorne says:
July 13, 2020 at 7:35 pm
Second time making this. Used regular Coconut Milk, which made the sauce MUCH creamier, (which was doubled), and substituted the chicken breast with Jumbo Shrimp. KILLER!!!
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Stephanie says:
July 15, 2020 at 10:08 am
so happy you liked it lorne! jumbo shrimp sound great in this :)
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Sarah says:
August 22, 2020 at 3:16 am
Do I need to use sesame/tahini paste or can I get away with using normal peanut butter? I can’t find that stuff anywhere in my local grocery stores!
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Stephanie says:
August 25, 2020 at 9:53 am
hi sarah,
you can sub in peanut butter :) it’ll taste a bit different, but it will still be good!Reply
Kimber says:
January 4, 2021 at 11:59 am
So easy and so delicious! Especially the second day after all of the flavors continued to meld together! I swapped kale for the spinach bc I don’t like the texture of cooked spinach (gets slimy for my taste). It is a perfect recipe!Reply
Sue M says:
January 4, 2021 at 6:44 pm
Would veggie broth work to make thus vegetarian?
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Stephanie says:
January 6, 2021 at 11:49 am
hi,
yes, just leave out the chicken and switch to veggie broth! add in whatever extra bits of veggies you like :)Reply
Rena says:
January 16, 2021 at 12:51 pm
Do you think this would work with pork belly instead of chicken? If so, how do you recommend I cook it?
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Stephanie says:
January 21, 2021 at 10:15 am
hi rena,
you can do it with pork belly in the instant pot, make sure it’s sliced then give it 10-15 minutes on high pressure then quick release.Reply
Katie says:
February 4, 2021 at 12:10 am
Are there any substitutes for the coconut milk?
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Stephanie says:
February 4, 2021 at 12:27 pm
unfortunately no, coconut milk is what gives this a thick and creamy coconutty flavor. if you’re adverse to coconut you can use heavy cream but it won’t have the same thickness or consistency :)
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Alaa says:
September 14, 2021 at 1:18 am
I tried the recipe it was so yummy and super easy 💙Reply
Michelle says:
September 27, 2021 at 8:57 am
Would there be any harm in slow cooking with a Crockpot? I’ve never made anything like this, so I’m unsure if the Crockpot would ruin the coconut milk, for instance.
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Stephanie says:
October 13, 2021 at 8:53 am
i haven’t tried in a crockpot but i think it will come out just fine – the coconut milk should be okay :)
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Heather says:
November 18, 2021 at 3:14 pm
Oh wow, this is wonderful! I have tried to make my own Thai food at home over the years, and this is the first time it’s tasted anywhere near as good as something you’d get at a Thai restaurant. And so easy to do! THANK YOU! My whole family loves it.Reply
Jennifer says:
November 20, 2021 at 9:49 am
So yummy! Ended up putting in quite a bit of the curry and made on the stovetop instead of my Instapot. Loved the flavors and will definitely make again.Reply
Maurizio says:
January 16, 2022 at 10:00 am
On the agenda for this weekend, just need to find some high quality noodles…
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Jess says:
February 5, 2022 at 10:09 pm
I found this recipe maybe 2 months ago and I’ve made it for my boyfriend and I at least 5 times since! It is AMAZING and now something we eat almost biweekly! We can’t get enough. Thank you for such a delicious recipe!Reply
Carolina says:
July 6, 2022 at 7:16 pm
It’s a really good recipe! I made it with salmon instead of chicken, added carrots, green onions and green beans… it came out really yummy!!Reply
